Novice Anime Discussion Part I (1 Viewer)

[Dennis Pagoulatos]

Someone made a comment on "Ghost in the Shell" as "ok visually, very Matrix-like..." Isn't it the other way around?

-Dennis

 

[Mike Franklin]

I just finishe watching the first four volumes of Martion Successor Nadesico and all I can say is.....WOW...this series is great. I really like and would like to suggest this to any one who like a good sci-fi comedy. I has great character and a slick story line. So please run out and check this sereis out today!

 

[Woo Jae]

Yup - Since Ghost In The Shell came first...

That's OK too - that is, not to trim the list but bold/highlight the NOVICE titles with votes.

Can you put my vote in for Novice for these titles? Thanks...

1. Ranma 1/2: Digital Dojo Box Set (seasons 1-3 highly recommended)
2. Tenchi Muyo! OAV Ultimate Edition (must get)
3. Crest of Stars DVD 1-4 (highly recommended)
4. Cowboy Bebop 1-6
5. Samurai X OAVs - Samurai X: Trust and Samurai X: Betrayal
6. Slayers DVD Collection, Slayers Next DVD collection, and Slayers Try DVD Collection (highly recommended)
7. Irresponsible Captain Tylor TV series
8. Magic User's Club OAVs 1-3
9. Video Girl Ai OAV
10. Now and Then Here and There DVD collection
11. Battle Athelets Victory/ OAV

Advanced

1. Bastard!!
2. 3X3 Eyes Perfect Collection
3. Ruroni Kenshin TV series, Samurai X Movie
4. Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy and Char's Counterattack
5. Fushigi Yugi Suzaku and Seiryuu Boxed Sets ( pricey but worth it)
6. Gasaraki DVD Collection
7. Area 88: Blue Skies of Betrayal


I will add more as time and space permit...

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Brendan Brown,

Thank's for your answer. Was looking however for a "all in one' title.
Have Metropolis, think it's great. Love the 3" DVD!
Blood: The Last Vampire. Heard nothing but good things about this, might be "The One",
Thanks.

JohnAD,

Have Akira:SE, not in tin [always wondered if the non-tin version would be 'rarer', by numbers, than the "Collectable" tin], amazing! Heard the DTS was off the hook, however will not be double dipping.
Jin-Roh, interesting, but did not 'hear' good things about the transfer.
Escaflowne the Movie: Do not know enough about this title. Killer box, but could not do the blind buy when it was cheap upon release at BB.
Thanks as well.

 

[Edwin-S]

Blood: The Last Vampire. Heard nothing but good things about this, might be "The One",
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The show is quite well animated. The story is not that good. The makers did seemed to pay attention to detail but the six engined B52 at the end of the movie was a hoot. Somebody sure screwed the pooch there.

 

[Brendan Brown]

Ed St. Clair:

Although Blood: The Last Vampire is indeed light on story (not that it doesn't exist, but the film isn't long enough to elaborate on backstory) there is apparently a companion manga that's just been released domestically that provides answers to some questions.

Mike Franklin:

Nadesico is indeed a great series, and if my top three weren't completely taken up by the triumvirate of Gainax titles (FLCL, Evangelion, Kare Kano) then Nadesico would easily be up there. I love this type of show (Irresponsible Captain Tylor's pretty good too, and in the same vein)

 

[Edwin-S]

Although Blood: The Last Vampire is indeed light on story (not that it doesn't exist, but the film isn't long enough to elaborate on backstory) there is apparently a companion manga that's just been released domestically that provides answers to some questions.
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Japanese anime seems to be rife with this sort of thing. A film should be able to stand on its own and not require a "companion" anything in order to understand it. If a manga has to be read in order for the movie to be understood, then the movie becomes an example of bad filmmaking.

 

[Brendan Brown]

well the movie was certainly understandable, it was just light on backstory. A moment in time.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

Blood is also very short. About 48 min. If you take into accoutnt hat that the credits are longer, it's about the same as an hour tv show.

 

[Gary Neuwirth]

To all the Novices looking for comedy (with a bit of sex appeal) here are my recommendations

Golden Boy and Captain Tylor TV (not OAV) series both have excellant dubs (and subtitles).

Into Science Fiction with some elf-like characters then
Crest of the Stars is for you. No elfs but check out Cowboy Bebop for some really good jazz music and lots of action.

Some Fantasy with plenty of blood then check out Berserk series.

Those series are the ones to check out for newbies then go for the hard stuff like Akira and Neon Genesis Evangelion

If it turns out you like my choices then buy Oh! My Goddess and Tenchi Muyo OAV. Also the upcoming series Rune Soldier which will be a hit.

Heh..as you can tell I listed my personal favorites and I know someone out there will have the same taste I do!

 

[Kong Chang]

I do recommend Berserk for a fantasy/action/adventure type series.

 

[JohnAD]

Ed:

I haven't seen any problems with Jin-Roh's transfer, but of course YMMV. As for the Escaflowne movie, it was an impulse buy on my part, since I missed seeing the movie when it was here, and I had only seen the first two disks of the series at the time. Definitely worth picking up unseen, but if you have a chance to rent or borrow it, by all means do so.

I picked up the Akira tin when it came out, but I have to say that the cover on the other version is very cool. I wish it had been used for the collector's tin.

John.

 

[Woo Jae]

I assume that people here know this, but if I am not mistaken Ruroni Kenshin TV series will be on Cartoon Network in March with (hopefully MINOR) edits. Those of you interested in the show can probably catch it on TV - Supposedly, it is scheduled to run in it's entirety of 95 episodes.

http://schedule.cartoonnetwork.com/s...urouni+Kenshin

(Link was from AnimeOnDVD site, taken w/o permission.)

 

[MarkHastings]

Novice Anime Question:

I bought Slayers (a few years back) because I wanted to get something Anime and this seemed like a popular title, but I only got halfway through it. I wasn't really crazy about all the screaming. Is all Anime like this? Considering Slayers is a more popular title, is it fair to assume that I probably won't be able to get into another movie?

I am tempted to try again with Spirited Away, but I'm not sure if it'll be the same experience as Slayers.

 

[Woo Jae]

MarkHastings:

Screaming?

Do you mean when they yell out names of attacks and such? That's normal for anime characters to do. Whether they "scream" or yell their attacks depends really on the type of anime you are dealing with. Slayers is a fantasy/parody spoof/comedy/drama of sorts, so screaming out names of attacks and what are normal for that genre.

Also try the Japanese track of the s how as well before passing judgment on the series.

Try Princess Mononoke or some other Ghibli title. Grave of the Fireflies Collector's Edition is a good purchase.

Also, what kind of shows/movies do you enjoy? Giving us a few titles will help those more familiar with anime give you something you may like.

That's the thing about blind purchases of anime or movies. If you are not familiar with the genre you can get burned...

Oh - and yes, Spirited Away does NOT have "screaming" as you put it anywhere in the movie and is on a different level from Slayers DVD altogether. Don't worry and get it.

 

[Kong Chang]

Screaming?

The Japanese doesn't have screaming in any of the slayers I know of. You must be watching the English dub to say there's screaming in it.

 

[MarkHastings]

I meant screaming as in, they all seemed to talk really loud for no real apparent reason and not just during attacks. Has anyone seen Dilbert? Kinda like that guy who always yells.

As far as movies go, I guess I lean more towards comedy and spoof.

I do recall some Anime on MTV. I believe it was "Liquid TV"? It was around the same time that The Maxx was on (1996'ish?). The dark/sexual kind of stuff seemed interesting too.

I don't want to start off with a long movie. Are there Anime shorts out there? Maybe a collection of different styles, etc.? Anything that doesn't require watching a whole series to understand?

 

[Brendan Brown]

MarkHastings:


That would likely be Aeon Flux (which rules by the way) but it technically isn't anime, but american animation in a similar style to anime. The director/creator of Aeon Flux Peter Chung has two current projects: Reign which is a japan/korea/usa coproduction, and a short film for the Anamatrix series.

as stated above: Blood: The Last Vampire is pretty short. I dunno if that's your cuppa tea though.

Incidentally The Maxx was an amazing show, but now the VHS is out of print and there's no sign of a DVD release, we should petition MTV and SMV.

 

[Tony-B]

Mark, You could watch Animatrix! Very good anime, and it provides an interesting look at the story of The Matrix. You need Quicktime and a fast connection in order to see the first episode. Go to http://www.theanimatrix.com/ to see it. Warner will be releasing all 9 episodes on DVD on June 3rd. Some other suggestions for movies and shows would be Crest of the Stars, Cowboy Bebop, and Akira.

 

[Kong Chang]

Um, there's no screaming in Slayers. However, there are reversed audio (left channel is right channel and vice versa) and other audio faults in the early R1 DVD editions. If you haven't picked up the correct audio corrections, that could explain it.